Amid the orange madness, as the Broncos celebrated their 26-16 dismantling of New England, the man who made all this crazy happiness possible stood quiet as a ghost, alone in the crowd.

Pat Bowlen is 69 years old. To be honest, he looks older. Time and gravity eventually slows a football mogul's stride. But his heart still beats with a passion for winning. Nobody in the Broncos organization hears the clock ticking more urgently than the franchise owner of 30 years, a reign that spans the glorious history from John Elway to Peyton Manning.

"This one's Super," Bowlen said after Denver secured the trophy as the AFC's best team. "We're going to New York."

The Broncos punched their ticket to the Super Bowl.

And Bowlen? If there's any justice, he has punched his ticket to Canton, Ohio. The Broncos owner belongs in the Hall of Fame. Can there be any doubt?

"Hall of Famer? Absolutely," said Ring of Fame receiver Rod Smith, wearing a championship ring in the Denver locker room. "People like Pat Bowlen are the reason why the NFL has become such an international success. The Hall of Fame should have an easy decision with a guy like Pat Bowlen, who now has the chance to get his third Super Bowl ring."

The team owned by Bowlen is going to the Super Bowl for the sixth time. No owner in NFL history has been a more frequent participant to the biggest event on the American sports calendar. In 2013, Bowlen became the first owner in sports history to win 300 games during a 30-year span. In three decades of his leadership, longtime, loyal Bronco- maniacs have suffered through only five losing seasons.

Those are impressive numbers worthy of first-ballot admission to the Hall. But know what's more remarkable? Bowlen isn't done yet. There's more history to make, when Denver plays Feb. 2 in Super Bowl XLVIII.

"Pat Bowlen is one of the great owners in sports. And there eventually comes a time, when people begin to say, 'Well, he was a great owner.' We all know this organization has gone through some tough times," said former Broncos safety John Lynch. "The Broncos had to fire a great coach in Mike Shanahan, who had won two world championships. But Pat Bowlen had the guts to say it wasn't working any longer. The team struggled until he brought back Old Faithful — John Elway — to run the organization. It's fun to see. I remember three or four years ago, there was apathy in this stadium, for what seemed like the first time ever in Denver. But the Broncos have come full circle. This stadium is rocking again. And that's pretty cool."

Ninety minutes before kickoff, all-time great Broncos defender Karl Mecklenburg stood on the grass of Sports Authority Field at Mile High, the sun of a 63-degree January afternoon shining a glow on his cheeks. "Do you believe this weather? Where are we? Miami?" he said, laughing. "This isn't the weather I remember for the AFC championship. Of course, I liked the frozen mud in Cleveland. It slowed everybody down to my speed."

The AFC championship game turned out to be a day at the beach for the Broncos. Manning completed 32-of-43 passes for 400 yards and two touchdowns. New England's Tom Brady so badly missed a wide-open receiver on more than one occasion, you wondered if he might be the quarterback with playoff anxiety issues.

Broncos coach John Fox outwitted Patriots counterpart Bill Belichick. It's funny how the guy with the better players on his sideline often looks like the smarter football strategist.

After Denver built a 20-3 lead in the third quarter, the game was not as close as the final score might indicate. In fact, at one point during the second half, I sent a tweet to Broncos Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe and asked if he still had that phone number for the National Guard.

There was a time when Bowlen wore a fur coat that attracted every eye in the stadium to his presence on the team bench at the conclusion of a big victory. But Bowlen has faded comfortably into the background, and his footsteps barely made a sound as bodyguards cleared a path through the din and clutter of a game that returned Denver to truly elite league status for the first time since January 1999.

"It's funny. A lot of guys in this locker room don't really know Mr. B that well. But I've been around him a long time, and I know how passionate he is about this game and his team," said cornerback Champ Bailey, who waited 15 years before getting his first shot to play for the NFL title. "Way back when I came in the league, the Broncos had just won the Super Bowl, and this franchise hasn't been back until now. So Mr. Bowlen has endured just as long a drought as I have. I understand it has been a while for the Broncos. Yeah, I know Mr. Bowlen has two (title) rings. But I also know he wants three."

From Manning to Bailey and Fox, there were many veteran Broncos desperate to get to the Super Bowl one more time. Bowlen knows exactly how they feel. Against the Patriots, all the old guys in orange ruled.

"This one's for John!" Bowlen shouted from the podium, holding aloft the Vince Lombardi Trophy after Elway led Denver to its first NFL championship, with a 31-24 victory against Green Bay on a January night in 1998. The Broncos won again the next season, and it seemed as if the victory parades would go on forever and the party would never end.

Football ain't easy. The clock has a nasty habit of slipping away on QBs and bleacher bums, millionaires and working stiffs alike.

It has been a long and winding road for the Broncos to get back to the Super Bowl. Who knows when any of us will get back again? Enjoy the ride.

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